My Little Pink Crocodile - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: She Is Just Naive

“Are you worried about Jiang Yu?”

Grace watched Qi Yan, who had been silent ever since Jiang Yu entered Jiang Yao’s car.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yan glanced toward Jiang Yao’s car. Unable to see the people inside, she forced herself to look indifferent, pulling a standard smile onto her face. “How could I be? We’ve only met a few times and lived together for a single day.”

Grace stared at her face for a moment and sighed in relief after hearing her words. “You scared me. I thought you had developed real feelings for her just because of a fake certificate. By the way, what exactly is that Jiang Yu?”

At Grace’s sudden question, Qi Yan’s eyes veiled over with an unreadable emotion. “A normal person.”

“She’s really not that crocodile you picked up?” Grace was still skeptical. After all, when she was near Jiang Yao, the woman felt as dominantly dangerous as a high-level predator.

Qi Yan shook her head, denying it against her own conscience. “No.”

Grace nodded thoughtfully, murmuring in a low voice, “True, Jiang Yu doesn’t look anything like a crocodile.” She seemed to have forgotten that before seeing that pink crocodile on Bumin Mountain, she had doubted its existence too.

Qi Yan didn’t listen to the rest of her chatter. She just lowered her gaze, lost in thought. After an unknown amount of time, the sound of a car door opening rang out.

Qi Yan looked up and saw a flash of color as a figure lunged into her arms.

“Take me home, quick.” Jiang Yu buried her face in Qi Yan’s chest, urging her in a muffled voice, seemingly terrified that the person in the car would change her mind and drag her back.

Qi Yan froze for a second, but instinctively reached out to hold her, asking softly, “What’s wrong? What did she say?”

As Jiang Yu bit her lip, debating how to answer, Jiang Yao rolled down her car window. She looked at the pair clinging together and called out, “Boss Qi.”

Jiang Yao stepped out of the car and walked over to them. Jiang Yu watched her warily, tightening her grip on Qi Yan and speaking up dissatisfied, “You said you’d let me go. What are you doing here now?”

Jiang Yao ignored her and smiled at Qi Yan. “I have something to say to Boss Qi.”

Jiang Yu looked suspicious and pouted. “You two have nothing to talk about.”

Seeing Jiang Yu acting as explosive as a firecracker, Qi Yan soothed her. “President Jiang likely has something important to say. Stop acting up for a moment.”

Jiang Yao chuckled. “Once I’m done, I don’t care how much you kiss or hug your partner.”

Qi Yan frowned. “President Jiang…” Before she could explain, Jiang Yao raised a hand to interrupt her. Her sharp eyes swept over Qi Yan, assessing her.

“First, I must thank Boss Qi for taking her in and caring for her for so long. This cousin of mine has been spoiled since childhood and can be quite unreasonable; it’s rare to find someone who can tolerate her.”

“Liar,” Jiang Yu whispered in protest.

“Cousin?” Qi Yan frowned, subtly studying Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao chuckled, giving a half-truthful explanation. “Yes, Jiang Yu is my cousin. However, I might have to trouble Boss Qi to look after her for a while longer. Jiang Yu’s parents are abroad and won’t be back anytime soon. And as you know, I am very busy; I wouldn’t have time to care for her if I took her to my place.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but this cousin of mine is quite headstrong and gives me quite a headache. I see she is very attached to you, so I’d like to trouble you. Of course, I will cover all her expenses.”

Huddled in Qi Yan’s arms, Jiang Yu knew Jiang Yao was concocting a plausible background story for her. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she kept her mouth shut and didn’t offer her own opinion, merely grumbling in her head.

As she finished, Jiang Yao calmly handed Qi Yan a check with the amount left blank. Qi Yan glanced at it but made no move to take it, nor did she immediately agree. Instead, she said, “I presume you heard what I said inside. Regarding that, I am very sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Her words were interrupted again. Jiang Yao didn’t withdraw the check, her smile remaining perfectly polite. “I know that. But if Boss Qi is worried about that, I can explain things to Jiang Yu’s parents, so you needn’t worry. Regardless of the circumstances, Boss Qi should take this check. In case my naive cousin does something reckless, it’s good to have the funds to settle things.”

Qi Yan’s expression shifted. She wanted to say more, but Jiang Yu, tired of the back-and-forth, grew impatient. “Just take what she gives you. She isn’t short of money anyway.” As she spoke, she snatched the check from Jiang Yao and tucked it away for Qi Yan.

With the check stuffed into her hand, Qi Yan hadn’t even reacted before Jiang Yu began pushing her toward their car. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Jiang Yu’s strength was immense. Qi Yan had no room to resist as she was pushed to the car and practically stuffed inside. “Wait, I need to drive!”

Seeing Jiang Yu try to shove her into the back seat while heading for the driver’s door herself, Qi Yan immediately stopped her for the sake of their safety. Jiang Yu, who had wanted to grandly drive off like a lead in a TV drama, froze at the door as the reality of her inability to drive hit her.

Seeing her looking a bit aggrieved, Qi Yan got out, led her to the passenger seat, and spoke in a gentle tone. “I’ll take you back.”

Qi Yan then nodded to Jiang Yao and smiled. “I will take good care of her.”

Grace, still watching the scene, didn’t realize Qi Yan’s car had vanished into the distance until it was gone. Only then did she remember she was supposed to go to Qi Yan’s house too.

“Wait, I didn’t get in the car? Oh well, whatever. I have my own car.” She prepared to say goodbye to Jiang Yao, but the other woman called out to her first.

“Miss Grace.”

Grace looked at the faint smile on Jiang Yao’s face and was momentarily dazed. “Is something the matter?”

Jiang Yao looked in the direction the car had gone and said somewhat helplessly, “She ran off so fast I didn’t get a chance to add Boss Qi’s contact info. Since you are her friend, I was wondering if I could trouble you with something.”

Beguiled by the smile, Grace instinctively wanted to agree. “Go ahead, I’ll see if I can do it.”

“Since Jiang Yu’s parents might miss her, I’ll need you to send me some photos of her daily life. If it’s not too much trouble, perhaps we could exchange contact information?” Jiang Yao suggested.

Finding nothing wrong with the request, Grace pulled her phone from her bag. “I’ll send them to you.”

Jiang Yao took the phone naturally, her fingers accidentally brushing against Grace’s. The warm touch made Grace flinch, but she forced a smile to hide her reaction.

After a few taps on the phone, Jiang Yao handed it back. “Thank you for the trouble.” Along with the phone, she handed over a check. “Please don’t refuse; this is a token of my sincerity.”

Grace hesitated but eventually took it. It carried a faint trace of the woman’s scent. Instinctively, Grace frowned and said, “Your perfume really does smell nice.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. Without waiting for a response, Grace turned and practically fled toward her car.

Watching her back, Jiang Yao simply called out as Grace opened her car door, “Remember to accept the request when you get home.”

Grace paused, her hand tightening around her phone. Without looking back, she replied, “Got it.”

Just then, Jiang Yao’s assistant returned from his errands and saw her watching a departing car. “Miss, do you know that person?”

“Just… a friend,” Jiang Yao said. The assistant was puzzled; because of their nature, Jiang Yao had rarely made friends since coming to the human world, let alone taking the initiative to meet someone.

Then, remembering something, Jiang Yao spoke calmly to the assistant. “My car is damaged. Find time to take it for repairs.”

“Huh? It looks fine to me,” the assistant said, looking at the vehicle.

Jiang Yao silently opened the back door. Seeing the carnage inside, the assistant’s eyes widened in shock. “Miss, who did you put in this car?! This is incredible strength!”

Jiang Yao didn’t answer. She simply said, “You needn’t worry about that. Just get it fixed.” The assistant didn’t dare ask more, but he secretly wondered if Jiang Yao was in a relationship—why else would she let a stranger in her car and allow them to wreck it?

Qi Yan didn’t take Jiang Yu straight home. Instead, she drove her to the police station. She had previously reported Jiang Yu as a missing person; now that she had “found” the girl’s family, she needed to close the case.

Officer Tian happened to be at the station. She was surprised to see Qi Yan with Jiang Yu. “Miss Qi? What brings you here?” She had a deep impression of Jiang Yu, recognizing her instantly.

Before Qi Yan could answer, the officer greeted Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu was busy looking around and only gave a perfunctory nod after Qi Yan prompted her. However, she beamed when she turned to speak to Qi Yan.

“What are we doing here?” Based on her previous experience, she thought Qi Yan was going to abandon her again. Making sure she wasn’t sleepy like last time, she looked at Qi Yan confidently.

Qi Yan: …

“Don’t worry, just some paperwork,” Qi Yan said gently, knowing the girl was afraid of being left behind. Jiang Yu nodded, though she still looked skeptical and clung tightly to Qi Yan.

Because she was as exquisite as a doll, the other officers in the station looked at her with the doting eyes of elders. They didn’t hesitate to offer her snacks. Jiang Yu took them without ceremony. “Thank you.”

“She was quite a handful when she came in before,” Officer Tian laughed.

Jiang Yu tugged at the hem of Qi Yan’s clothes and hid behind her, muttering, “I was only afraid you’d kidnap me. After all, I am a rare…” The rest of her sentence trailed off into an inaudible whisper.

Officer Tian laughed it off and realized she had forgotten to let Qi Yan answer her question. “So, Miss Qi, this time you’re here for…?”

As Qi Yan tore open a snack bag for Jiang Yu, she wore a gentle smile. “It’s about Jiang Yu’s family.”

Officer Tian, assuming Qi Yan was getting tired of the trouble and was checking for progress, spoke apologetically. “I’m sorry, Miss Qi. We don’t have any news yet.”

“No, I’ve found her family.”

Officer Tian was surprised. “Oh? Did her family find her themselves?” She looked at Jiang Yu behind Qi Yan, confused. “Then why is she still with you?”

Jiang Yu poked her head out, a brilliant smile on her sweet face. “I’m staying by Qi Yan’s side, of course.”

Qi Yan thought for a moment and used Jiang Yao’s explanation. “Her parents are currently abroad and won’t be back for a while. Her cousin has contacted me and asked me to look after her for a few days.”

Officer Tian nodded thoughtfully. “In that case, I’ll close the missing person case for her.”

“Thank you,” Qi Yan said.

As Officer Tian operated the computer, she looked at Jiang Yu—who was still staring around with curiosity—and spoke with the tone of a worried mother. “You little girl, don’t go running away from home anymore, okay? You’re lucky you met someone as good as Miss Qi. If you’d met a bad person, they would have sold you off.”

Hearing the words “good person,” Qi Yan thought of the fake certificate in her bag and how she had used Jiang Yu. She coughed a few times, interrupting Officer Tian.

“She is just naive.”